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The remains of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been found inside freezers in an apartment in western Austria.

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were detected on Friday. The cooling units were hidden behind a drywall partition in the flat, situated in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in the month of June. The elder brother, a work associate of the Syrian woman, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but disputed murder.

Speaking to reporters previously, a representative for the state prosecutor stated the pair were being detained on "strong suspicion of homicide".

The identities of those implicated have not been disclosed by police, in accordance with local legislation.

The family's disappearance was first reported by the woman's cousin, who is based in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Police said the woman's colleague informed them at the time she had embarked on an extended trip with her child to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then noted as being active overseas repeatedly.

Yet when investigators searched the victim's residence, her smartphone was discovered.

An individual also stated overhearing a loud noise in the dwelling, and screams of "mama" on the day the two were presumed to have gone missing.

A wider criminal probe was initiated, with officers uncovering multiple communications sent from the mother's device—including a notice of quitting to her employer and texts to the male colleague.

Officials confirmed a significant cash transfer was also moved to the man.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office informed media representatives on Tuesday that a storage facility had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a cooling unit had been installed within.

The two suspects took out the cooling unit from the facility on the day the mother and daughter disappeared, she said. And a seven days after, they obtained a second unit.

Investigators state they believe this indicates the demise were planned in advance.

"How they died was not identifiable due to the condition of the victims," Tersch stated.

Mayr—from the legal authorities—noted the precise timeline is not yet known, but the remains were expertly concealed and went unnoticed during a earlier inspection.

While the suspects were detained in June, it was only on 12 November that the elder brother admitted to an occurrence and to storing the victims. He rejects any murderous intent, authorities confirmed.

Meanwhile, his brother admitted to a concealment but rejected knowledge of a murder.

The two suspects are currently in detention before court proceedings in jails in Innsbruck and Salzburg, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "alleged double murder... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of two human lives and uncovers a brutal scheme".

"Females of all ages are being murdered due to the simple reality that they are of the female gender," they went on to say.

"Gender-based killings are a profoundly embedded and society-wide problem that we must combat firmly."